Display on women scientists

Celebrating Scottish women of science

The enduring legacy of some remarkable Scottish women of science
— most of whom remain largely unknown today — is being celebrated
at the National Library of Scotland.

They include:

A goddaughter of Queen Victoria who served an apprenticeship in
a Dundee shipyard

A botanist who produced a celebrated book of plant
illustrations to support her family after her husband was
imprisoned

A biologist who shared her work with the Emperor of Japan

A former house maid who made important astronomical
discoveries.

They all overcame significant obstacles to pursue their
scientific interests at a time when universities had only started
opening their doors to women and learned societies continued to
exclude them. The fact that their work is still cited today in
scientific journals demonstrates the relevance of their discoveries
to the modern world.

The Treasures display which opens today (March 1) at the
National Library of Scotland celebrates the trailblazing
achievements of 11 women of science born in the 18th to the 20th
centuries. It runs during Women's History Month and is part of the
programme of the Edinburgh Science Festival.

Catherine Booth, Science Curator at NLS, who has put the display
together, said: 'Most of these women are virtually unknown today,
but their work is still influencing a new generation of scientists.
They are representative of a much bigger group of female Scottish
scientists whose achievements we are proud to celebrate.'

Hard choices had to be made in selecting the 11 women to be
profiled in the display from the many who could have been chosen.
It was decided to exclude living scientists and those with a
medical background.

The 11 are:

Elizabeth
Blackwell(1700-1758)—
amateur botanist and artist:
Born in Aberdeen, Elizabeth moved to London with her husband who
was jailed as a debtor after his printing business failed. To
support her family and free her husband, she sketched plant
specimens at the Chelsea Physic Garden. She published the
illustrations and they proved a huge success. Today the botanical
accuracy of her depictions is still admired. The display features
some of her work

Mary Somerville
(1780-1872) — mathematician and astronomer:
Mary was born in Jedburgh in 1780 and was described on her death
in 1872 as the 'Queen of Nineteenth Century Science'. She wrote
three major scientific works and was the first woman to be elected
to the Royal Astronomical Society. Somerville College in Oxford is
named after her

Elizabeth Fulhame
(precise dates unknown) — chemist:
Little is known about Elizabeth who published a book in 1794
called 'An essay on combustion'. It was clearly the work of a
skilled chemist, but was criticised by many scientists (all of them
men) who thought she was exceeding her bounds as a woman. Her book
was translated into German and was republished in Philadelphia
where she was elected as an honorary member of the Philadelphia
Chemical Society

Williamina Fleming
(1857-1911) — astronomer:
Williamina and her husband emigrated from Dundee to the USA in
1878 but, shortly afterwards, she was left as a single parent.
After a time working as a maid, she found work at the Harvard
College Observatory identifying the presence of stars captured on
photographic plates. She subsequently discovered hundreds of stars
and the Horsehead Nebula — a dark cluster of gas and interstellar
dust in the constellation of Orion

Maria Gordon
(1864-1939) — geologist:
Maria was born in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire and became the first
woman to gain a PhD from the University of Munich. She published
more than 30 papers on the geology of the South Tyrol region of
Italy and was one of the first geologists to show that limestone
peaks were formed by movements in the Earth’s crust.

Muriel Robertson
(1883-1973) — zoologist:
Muriel was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow University. She
is known for her work on parasites that causes illnesses such as
sleeping sickness. She also played an important role during both
world wars in identifying types of the bacteria Clostridium which
can infect war wounds. She was one of the first women to be elected
as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Victoria Drummond (1894-1978) —
marine engineer:
Victoria was born at Megginch Castle, Perthshire and was a
goddaughter of Queen Victoria. Her passion for engineering did not
seem to flow from her aristocratic background but so intent was she
in an engineering career, that she served an apprenticeship in
Caledon Ship Works, Dundee. She served on a number of ships, but
faced opposition from the male establishment in trying to gain a
chief engineer's certificate. She eventually triumphed' and one of
the many highlights of her career was being awarded the MBE and
Lloyd's war medal for bravery for single-handedly keeping the
engines of the SS Bonita running while under German
bombardment.

Charlotte ('Lotte')
Auerbach (1899-1944) — geneticist:
Lotte spent much of her working life in Edinburgh after fleeing
Nazi Germany in 1933. She became a pioneer in the study of genetic
mutations and was one of the first scientists to understand the
dangers of nuclear radiation. She was one of the first women to be
made a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Isabella Gordon
(1901-1988) — marine biologist:
Isabella became known as the 'Grand Old Lady of Carcinology'
(science of crustaceans such as lobsters and crabs) due to her
impressive research. She was born in Keith to impoverished parents
and earned a bursary to continue her education. She spent most of
her working life at the British Museum but provided expertise and
advice both at home and abroad, including to Emperor Hirohito of
Japan.

Marion C Gray
(1902-1979) — mathematician:
Marion was born in Ayr and spent most of her working life in the
United States with large companies, including the phone company
AT&T and Bell Laboratories. She made an important discovery in
graph theory which is still cited by scientists today.

Marion A S Ross
(1903-1994) — physicist:
Marion was born in Edinburgh and graduated from Edinburgh
University. She carried out pioneering work into the structure of
crystals in the 1930s with Arnold Beevers which is still exciting
interest today. She was the first director of Edinburgh
University's Fluid Dynamics Unit and a physics prize commemorates
her name.